To go along with Intel’s latest launch all of the motherboard manufacturers also have lots of new boards as well. So it isn’t a surprise that we have had a few of the new Z490 boards show up in the office. I’m going to take a look at them over the next few days. Most of the boards that were sent over are higher end, but MSI sent over their MPG Z490 Gaming Carbon WiFI which isn’t a budget board but is a little easier on the wallet. Its name may be a little long, but at just under $270 is it a good sweet spot for a Z490 build? Today I’m going to find out!

Product Name: MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Carbon WiFi

Review Sample Provided by: MSI

Written by: Wes Compton

Amazon Affiliate Link: HERE

 

 

Specifications

Processor

-Supports 10th Gen Intel® Core™ and Pentium® Gold / Celeron® processors for LGA1200 socket

-Onboard graphics output are disabled when using the F SKU processors.

Chipset

Intel® Z490 Chipset

Memory

4x DDR4 memory slots, support up to 128GB1

Supports 1R 2133/2666/2933 MHz1

1DPC 1R Max speed up to 4800+ MHz

1DPC 2R Max speed up to 4266+ MHz

2DPC 1R Max speed up to 4400+ MHz

2DPC 2R Max speed up to 4000+ MHz

Supports Dual-Channel mode

Supports non-ECC, un-buffered memory

Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)

Expansion slots

3x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots*, support x16/ x0/ x4 or x8/ x8/ x4 mode

2x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots

Onboard graphics

1x HDMI port, supports a maximum resolution of 4096x2160 @30Hz

1x DisplayPort, supports a maximum resolution of 4096x2304 @60Hz

Maximum shared memory is 1GB

Multi-GPU

Supports 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology

Supports 3-Way AMD® CrossFire™ Technology

Storage

Intel® Z490 Chipset

  • 6x SATA 6Gb/s ports
  • 2x M.2 slots (Key M)
    • M2_1 supports up to PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb/s, 2242/ 2260/ 2280/ 22110 storage devices
    • M2_2 supports up to PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb/s, 2242/ 2260/ 2280 storage devices
    • Intel® Optane™ Memory Ready
    • Supports Intel® Sma

Raid

Intel® Z490 Chipset

  • Supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 for SATA storage devices
  • Supports RAID 0 and RAID 1 for M.2 PCIe storage devices

USB

Intel® Z490 Chipset

  • 5x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps ports (4 Type-A ports on the back panel, 1 Type-C internal connector)
  • 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps ports are available through the internal USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps connector
  • 6x USB 2.0 ports (2 Type-A ports on the back panel, 4 ports through the internal USB 2.0 connectors)

ASMedia® ASM3241 Chipset

  • 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20Gbps port on the back panel

Audio

Realtek® ALC1220 Codec

  • 7.1-Channel High Definition Audio
  • Supports S/PDIF output

LAN

1x Realtek® RTL8125B 2.5Gbps LAN controller

WiFi &Bluetooth

Intel® AX201

  • Supports 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, MU-MINO Rx, 2.4GHz-5GHz (160MHz) up to 2.4Gbps
  • WiFi 6 Pre-Certified
  • Supports Bluetooth® 5.1 , FIPS, FISMA
  • The Wireless module is pre-install in the M2 (Key-E) slot

Internal Connectors

1x 24-pin ATX main power connector

1x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector

1x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector

6x SATA 6Gb/s connectors

2x M.2 slots (M-Key)

1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type-C port

1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps connector (supports additional 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps ports)

2x USB 2.0 connectors (supports additional 4 USB 2.0 ports)

1x 4-pin CPU fan connector

1x 4-pin water-pump fan connector

6x 4-pin system fan connectors

1x Front panel audio connector

2x System panel connectors

1x Chassis Intrusion connector

1x 4-pin RGB LED connector

2x 3-pin RAINBOW LED connectors

1x 3-pin CORSAIR LED connector

1x Serial port connector

1xTPM module connector

1x TBT connector*

1x RTD3 connector

1x Clear CMOS jumper

Back Panel Ports

PS/2 Combo Port

DisplayPort

USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps (Type-A)

LAN Port

HD Audio Connectors

USB 2.0

HDMI Port

USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20Gbps (Type-C)

USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps (Type-A)

Wi-Fi / Bluetooth

Optical S/PDIF OUT

Dimensions

ATX Form Factor

12 in. x 9.6 in. (30.5 cm x 24.4 cm)

Mounting

9 mounting holes

Operating System

Support for Windows® 10 64-bit

Box Contents

Motherboard
User Manual

Quick Installation Guide

MSI Case Badge

Product Registration Card

1 to 2 RGB LED Extension Y Cable
Driver DVD

Case Screw Guide

Corsair RGB LED Extension Cable

2 x SATA Cables

Rainbow RGB LED Extension Cable

Promotion Card

MSI Product Catalog

 

 

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Hummer replied the topic: #38756 24 May 2020 18:48
Is it possible to run the PCIe lanes in a x8/x4/x4 configuration? There is a 'CPU PCIe Lanes Configuration' in the BIOS but in the video walkthrough you dont go into the submenu.
garfi3ld's Avatar
garfi3ld replied the topic: #38757 25 May 2020 18:17
The only two options are x16/ x0/ x4 or x8/ x8/ x4

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